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Jamali says there is no change in Pak`s Kashmir policy
Islamabad, Nov 23: In sharp contrast to the foreign office statement that Pakistan was willing to hold talks with India on basis of Shimla and Lahore accords, premier Mir Zafarullah Khan Jamali has said there is no change in the country`s policy of insisting on a solution of the `core` issue of Kashmir first in any dialogue with New Delhi.
Islamabad, Nov 23: In sharp contrast to the foreign office statement that Pakistan was willing to hold talks with India on basis of Shimla and Lahore accords, premier Mir Zafarullah Khan Jamali has said there is no change in the country's policy of insisting on a solution of the
"core" issue of Kashmir first in any dialogue with New Delhi.
"Kashmir is the core problem and it has to be solved. The foreign office is not the last word as far as we are concerned. If somebody has given his opinion, that is something different," Jamali said in an interview to 'Dawn' newspaper on the completion of one year of his government.
There is "no change" in Pakistan's policy on Kashmir, he said when asked whether recent assertions by foreign office spokesman Masood Khan that Islamabad was ready to hold talks with new delhi on the basis of Shimla and Lahore agreements represented a policy change. Under the Shimla accord Kashmir figured last in contrast to Pakistan's insistence that it has to be the "core issue" and must be solved first. Jamali, who begins his second year as Prime Minister this week, also rejected opposition's charge that the present foreign policy isolated Pakistan from the Islamic world and pointed to Islamabad's efforts to remove "irritants" with neighbouring Iran and Afghanistan while maintaining close relations with other Muslim countries.
Bureau Report
There is "no change" in Pakistan's policy on Kashmir, he said when asked whether recent assertions by foreign office spokesman Masood Khan that Islamabad was ready to hold talks with new delhi on the basis of Shimla and Lahore agreements represented a policy change. Under the Shimla accord Kashmir figured last in contrast to Pakistan's insistence that it has to be the "core issue" and must be solved first. Jamali, who begins his second year as Prime Minister this week, also rejected opposition's charge that the present foreign policy isolated Pakistan from the Islamic world and pointed to Islamabad's efforts to remove "irritants" with neighbouring Iran and Afghanistan while maintaining close relations with other Muslim countries.
Bureau Report